Greg Oden hasn’t played NBA minutes since December 5, 2009 — a span of 1,418 days.

(That figure is via Ben Golliver at SI.com, who personally lived through the Oden nightmare in Portland, so we’ll take his word for it.)

Oden was picked up by the Miami Heat this summer, on a one-year minimum deal in the off chance he may be able to help the team against the likes of Roy Hibbert and the Indiana Pacers several months from now.

It’s early, and Oden isn’t going to be pressed into any premature game situations. But as a reward for his hard work during training camp, Oden was given some real minutes in preseason action against New Orleans on Wednesday — and he delivered immediately, the first time he touched the ball just seconds into his stint.

It would be beyond foolish to try to count on Oden’s health at this extremely early stage, but it’s obvious that if he is somehow 100 percent healthy once the postseason begins, you can go ahead and pencil Miami in for their fourth straight trip to the Finals.

No kidding about being nervious! Every time he jumped and came down… but he made it through, didn’t look like he was worried about his knees at all, and actually resembled an interior force for 4 minutes.

For all us Heat fans that get nervous about his health, Heat haters should be equally nervous for his health. If he stays injury free, the haters will have to worry about Miami having a good big man and the return of Bosh to his natural position. Oh yeah, they might want to worry about those other two guys, LeBo and Wade. I heard they’re the bee’s knees. I am ultra pumped for this year!

I don’t think so. When Bosh and Oden were in there together they were like an impenetrable forest. Anthony Davis – who was previously playing with a lot of confidence and swag – was having a very hard time operating around those two.

We’re just talking about 4 minutes though, but you could see the possibilities of having 6’11 Bosh and 7’0 Oden out there at the same time.

Oden can’t replace what Bosh does tho – CB is much too versatile.

00maltliquor - Oct 24, 2013 at 2:27 AM

anti

I’m just saying a hypothetical “what if” Greg Oden does so well this season, no injuries and all, that by years end when Oden and the Big 3’s contracts all run out, do the Heat move forward with Greg, LeBron and W.O.W. and leave Bosh Spice hanging (due to salary cap)??

It stinks that Greg Oden’s hypothetical has him staying healthy but we all know his history. If Miami can find a serviceable big then I’d keep Bosh in a heartbeat, his game will age well if he plays the 4. I like Bosh’s next six years as a stretch player. It would be kind of hopeful/foolish to bank your future on Oden.

heat fans…. fyi, IT’S PRESEASON! LMFAO
he looked like he was playing HS kids ball back at Lawrence North. a bold prediction here, he will not last the entire season and the Pacers will take the Eastern conference.

Popovich is arguably the best coach in the league, however according to the Ric Flair axiom of “to be the man you gotta beat the man”, Spoelstra is the best coach in the league right now.

1972wasalongtimeago - Oct 24, 2013 at 6:51 AM

Pop is awesome. Lots of NBA coaches are awesome. Righ now Spo is better. When it came down to it late June, Pop made some very questionable lineup changes at critical times. Spo didn’t.

Plus Pop committed a serious bonehead move that went unnoticed that would have radically changed people’s perception of him had it been noticed by anyone other than me and a few PBT posters (after Allen”s “Big 3″ in game 6 [smiling] the refs reviewed it. Without taking a time out [he didn’t have one], Pop subbed in Duncan (see above paragraph regarding questionable lineups at critical times) for the inbound. That’s illegal. Should have been a tech. Allen should have been in the line shooting a GW free throw before it ever got to OT. )

how else did he look so good coming out of high school, if he wasn’t playing with Mike Conley in high school he would be another bust….. oh wait, HE WAS a bust!!!! notice the other bust next to him Michael Beasley??? wonder how much reefer is being burnt in the Heat locker room

Does it say more about me or the state of baseball that a preseason dunk was more thrilling to me than anything that happened in the world series tonight? I mean, I was flipping to the fall classic during the commercials of preseason NBA…

I was nervous watching Oden the whole time, but it was great to see, even if he never manages to help the Heat out in the postseason. There was some obvious rust, but he was active and productive in his brief stint. We’re all pullin’ for ya, big fellah!

I hate the Heat and their phony fan base… but with that being said, they were as close to great as you can be last year. “IF” Oden can stay healthy and utilize the talents that once made him the top pick over KD the rest of the NBA needs to look out….

I still play 2k13, on Xbox. Last 2 years between work and having a baby I really don’t play as much as I used to and would like. Hard to find the time without feeling guilty, LOL! I play 5 min. qtrs. so the games last close to an hour, and I can’t just play one game! Plus when I moved from Vegas back to Cali I moved away from my main competition so I really don’t have the motive.

Why, you got a used 2k14 game for Xbox you want to get off, holla back if the price is right!!

That really is interesting, they really look alike, they’re both giants. Just Oden took all injuries away from Lebron. And also Oden came from Ohio, which is just a fun fact, but was born in state of NY. Imagine if they have been brothers, what would their father look like??

I’m telling you, their father was spreading his seed all over from NY to Ohio in the late 80s! For real they should take a paternity test. How wild would that be if they were indeed long lost siblings!? LOL

I like the dunk, but Spo is going to have to get him some short minutes like this at some point or pressure him more in practice, because in 4 minutes, Oden got that dunk, but also 2 fouls and 2 turnovers. He still has plenty of rust to shake off.

I loved that the moment Oden got in the game they fed him the ball, this is the absolute best situation for Greg to be in. He looked a little nervous but you could see how the rest of this team rallied around him. He was a half a step late in several situations, he missed several rebounds and blocks that you could tell were from not being in those situations for so long. This dude could easily average 6-8 rebounds in as little as 10-12 min a night, the big “IF” of course is staying healthy. I don’t think we will see to much of him for a couple more weeks, but if what we saw is any indication of whats to come, than Miami can be absolutely dominate.

Wait, because Oden is healthy you can pencil in number 4. ROFL. You Heat guys have lost your mind. Do the fans have to learn how to be champions too? Hate to break it but the window is already closing. Besides LBJ, who’s set on this squad for the long haul?

…yeah, well, he wasn’t even gonna be in by Christmas as far as anyone here was saying – he was rusty, yes, but the guys who noted the fouls and the turnovers forgot to mention the blocks, the altered shots, and the forced jump ball. It could all come crashing down at any time, but consider whether the Heat would have put him in for even 4 minutes if they thought there was any chance he would break down.